Harry Potter and the People of the Wind
by Athanasia Firewing
Summary: My first story. Contains some "bad words" and innuendo. Strange happennings during Harry's seventh year...Harry/OC Yay! Have fun. Please R&R!


This is my first Fanfic, so go reeeally easy on me, k? Please review!  
  
Prologue  
  
She pushed the leaves away from her face in order to get a clearer view of the castle. It was taller than any other building she had seen in her life, though, she had spent most of her long life wandering the earth with her tribe, away from most civilizations. The falling moon hovered above the high treetops that surrounded the giant castle. Here and there, lights flickered through holes in the side of it. She brushed some of the black hair that fell softly around her face as she stared at one window in particular. The window of the Gryffindor Common room was still on. From her perch in the branches of the trees, she could see several figures outlined in the light. Her eyesight perceived that there were three. One with extremely bush hair. Of course, those three would be the ones still up at this late hour.  
  
It was good to be home, she thought. She hadn't been here in a long time. Too long, in fact. The last time she was here was nearly twenty human years ago.   
  
She let out a low, long whistle, much like the song of a mourning dove, and the trees came alive with her kind.  
  
  
Hagrid heard the whistle from his hut. He couldn't sleep because Fang had been whimpering a lot lately, and had clung to his side like a motherless child.  
  
"Odd." He muttered to himself. "Te doves 're out early." The only reason he recognized this was because he often listened to the songs of the birds in the early morning hours. Realizing Fang's nervousness was in sync with the unease of the forest lately, Hagrid reached for a lantern and his pink umbrella. He opened the huge door and stalked out, holding the lantern high and brandishing the umbrella like a sword.  
  
"Who's there?" he cried out hoarsely. His head swiveled around when he heard a twig snap.  
  
"It's alright, Hagrid, it's me." A figure stepped into the ring of light. Hagrid breathed a sigh of relief.  
  
"Well, Professor Lupin, ye gave me quite a scare." Hagrid chuckled. "Won't ye come in and have some tea?" Hagrid waved towards the inside.  
  
"No, thank you, Hagrid. I'm just enjoying the last few hours before the students arrive tomorrow." He looked casually at his watch. "Or should I say, later today." He smiled.  
  
"Well, ye be careful, now." Hagrid glanced around uneasily. "There's sommat wrong with te forest these days." He whispered. "Fang's been actin' like a puppy of late." Fang raised his head from where he lay by the hearth and gave a very indignant look towards Hagrid.  
  
"I will be, thank you, Hagrid." Remus smiled. He continued past Hagrid's hut towards the edge of the lake. Hagrid shut the door gently and sat by the fire. As he stared into the dying flames, he slowly drifted off into a deep pool of sleep.  
  
  
Remus dipped his bare feet in the lake and sighed. The cool water soothed his feet, aching from the long walk. He watched as the reflections of the stars and clouds in the sky were disturbed by the ripples he caused. He followed the ripples to the other side of the lake. He stared off into the trees, watching as several owls chased after another, unluckily small bird. He continued down the shore line, still staring at the other edge of the forest, until he realized that the forest _was staring back at him_. A figure, lean and dark, jumped lightly from the tree branches. A sudden wind blew up, carrying the figure's long mass of hair away from its body. Without the hair, the silhouetted figure was thin and small. It bent down by the side of the lake and pulled some water up to its mouth. This must be what Hagrid was talking about; something wrong with the forest. He could think of no other person that was awake in the castle. No one that young and lithe, that is. Remus held still, even slowed his breathing down until it was almost no more.   
  
Suddenly, a crow, sitting close to Remus' head let out a harsh caw. The figure looked up directly at Remus. He knew he could be seen easily in the moonlight. Expecting it to rush at him in a mad fury, he was quite surprised when the figure seemed to back away, almost afraid.. It stopped, halfway between the edge of the trees and the lake, almost waiting, silently. A loud rustling by his side caused Remus to jump, prepared for anything to leap out at him. When nothing did, he turned back to the figure, almost as if it had something to do with it. The figure had gone. Remus, unsure of what to do, continued on around the lake at a quick stride. Soon, he broke out into a run, and he soon reached the site where the figure had recently stood.  
  
He looked down at the ground. Strange, the footsteps stopped halfway between the shoreline and the edge of the trees. It was nearly ten yards to the trees. No one could jump that far. Remus looked around wildly for something to jump out at him. Nothing did. He backed away from the site slowly, as if reluctant to leave. He shook his head, not believing anything that had happened. Of course, those footprints were his own, the figure, merely a reflection in the lake he had gotten confused with. He told himself this over and over as he strode back to the castle. As much as he said it, as much as he wanted to believe it, he couldn't.  
  
His doubts were proved when he reached the castle doors. He turned back to look at the lake one last time. A lithe shadow was flitting from shadow to shadow towards the castle. He quickly walked inside the castle and shut and barred the doors. He stood for a moment with his back to the door, clutching his chest, trying to stop his heart from fluttering around like a bird in its cage. He finally gave up and walked warily to his quarters. As he climbed into bed, he did not notice the figure perched outside his window.  
  
  
  



End file.
